You know what I've been doing for the past 5 days?
Bike riding boot camp with my 3 little boogers. No more training wheels in this house........
Or least I think not.
Seriously, I'm amazed at how most of the world can ride a bike. It's pretty damn hard to learn and God help me, hard to teach. And I'm a teacher! Like a real, have graduate degrees and certifications, teacher.
My back is killing me, I have scrapes on my shins, my patience is a goner and I'm not even the one doing the hardest thing.
Actually, now that I reflect on the past umpteen hours, I do think teaching it is more of challenge than riding the freakin' thing. They have just been sitting there, being pushed along, hearing me serenade them with "you gotta pedal" over and over. No back spasms, sweat in the eyes or other aging ailments.
But alas, 1 out of the 3 is a legit rider. She's got it! Her sis is about 80% there and really just needs to trust herself more. The little guy? Ha, check on me in September. I've already been growled at, kicked by and know very confidently the kid prefers his scooter.
So what do I need?
A recipe that can offer me a sweet escape for a few moments.
Voila and thank the Lord! Croissant brittle has done just that.
A croissant, by itself, can improve anyone's mood, but turn it into some sort of bakery candy and game over, you're in a better mindset. Seriously so simple too. The only hard part I suppose would be having leftover croissants I guess. Can't say those are high on the top-leftover plates! Luckily, most foodstores have discounted sections where you can probably find day old pastries and such. Or you coud just buy them and hide them for a day or two.
But honestly the ladder there sounds harder than you think. Almost as hard as...........
riding your damn bike!
;)
Enjoy......
Croissant Brittle
Serves: 6-8
Slightly adapted from: Food52
Ingredients:
5 leftover (1-2 day old) croissants
1 C half & half
1 1/2 C sugar (plus extra for dusting)
Place croissants in large sealable storage bag. Seal and freeze for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 300 F. Make sure you have 2 racks set up with one in middle and one above.
Slice croissants into 1/2in. thick slices, you should get 3 slices per croissant. (use a bread or serrated knife)
In a small saucepan, heat half & half over medium-low heat. Once it starts to slowly bubble, remove from heat, add sugar and whisk well to dissolve. (If not dissolving after 2 minutes or so, place over low flame and whisk until dissolved)
Pour 'syrup' into shallow bowl or dredging plate.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dip each croissant, on both sides, into syrup and gently squeeze to drip out excess. You want them to be very well saturated and somewhat soaked, just not doused and dripping all over the place.
Place on prepared baking sheet.
Continue with remaining croissant slices. Try to keep smaller pieces on one tray and larger ones on the other if you can, the smaller ones won't need as much time baking.
Sprinkle each top with some extra sugar.
Place sheets on middle and upper oven racks and bake for about 45 minutes. Rotate the sheets, as in- move the middle one to the top and turn and vice versa at the 20-25 minutes mark.
After 45 minutes, the smaller ones should be done. Done being when the edges are deeply brown and the inside a bit lighter. They should be mostly firm to the touch with just a bit of give. They will continue to completely harden when cooling. (careful when touching, the sugar is hot!). Place sheet on cooling rack.
Let the larger ones bake for another 5-10 minutes until those are deeply brown on edges and lighter on the insides.
Let both pans cool on rack for about 30 minutes. At that point, they should all be hardened and mostly cool. Peel the parchment paper slowly away from the 'brittle' and let 100% cool before storing in airtight container.
Enjoy!!
